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Grip Size to avoid Tennis Elbow

Hi
This is my first post here (so please be gentle!).

I had TE operation in October and played for the first time today.

Surgeon said to increase grip size but I'm not sure I need to - I use a towelling grip and the grip size is about 3 3/4" (I'm female and my hands are 'normal' size).
I've found web sites that have formulae for calculating grip size for Tennis rackets based on hand measurement(s) but not for badminton rackets.
Is there such a formula ?
Or any guidelines on how to choose correct size please ? (eg using forehand or backhand grip how much gap should there be between fingers and palm)

Arguably the grip sizes normally sold in the past are too big for females in Europe (G3 Yonex) so what was yours initially? Maybe try it with just an overgrip instead of towel for a while ... wrapped like this http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...64#post2027264 overlapping itself basically.

Hi
Thanks for reply.
I like towelling grip as my hands seem to sweat and it gives a better grip.
My Yonex was a G3 to start with but someone planed it down a little as he said it was, indeed, too large for me (with towel grip)
So now 3 3/4" (inc grip) is a G4 - as you say, quite large for a female, so I think I'll leave it as it is as it is already on the large size.
Thanks again, H

I don't think a bigger grip size prevents a tennis elbow. Normally you shouldn't get one while playing badminton. If you get a tennis elbow there is something wrong with your technique and that is the part you need to change.
In badminton the right grip size is also determined by the way you play. To generate power with your fingers you need a small grip.

I went to my GP due to a serious pain in my forearm muscle (I NEVER complained of elbow pain). Eventually, I saw a consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. An MRI scan confirmed Tennis Elbow. An injection helped a little (10%) but in the end I had surgery.

The surgeon told me (as have many others) that too small a grip on a badminton racket can lead to TE as 'you' grip it too tightly putting excess strain on the arm muscle and tendon. More so in badminton than tennis as badminton uses the wrist more.

TE is more common in badminton players than Tennis players.
(I believe, but am not 100% sure, that the correlation is the other way around in Tennis ie. too large a grip is more likely to lead to TE).

I usually play in group sessions (led by a coach) and don't believe my technique was the cause.

A couple of years back I suffered from Golfer's elbow (inside of the elbow) for about 6 months. I was using a G4 grip (smaller than a G3, but I'm sure you knew that) with a grip wrapped ontop of the manufactures grip. The inflammation was acute; it would flare up after playing but be gone a few days later.

I read on here that increasing my gripsize might help, I did this and it cured my problems almost immediately.

However in the last nine months I've been decreasing my grip size and am currently playing with G4 grip with one of the 0.6mm ultrathin overgrips wrapped singularly ontop of the manufactures grip. So I am now playing with a (much) smaller grip than what was causing me problems to begin with!

This reason I am able to do this was that my initial problem was caused by me holding the racket too tightly. I think that by increasing my grip size I learned to relax my grip. I was also making a conscious effort to be more relaxed in my stroke making. I've only had one flare up since, and that was after my first match of the new season where I was a little nervous and tight.

If you are suffering from the same problem then one excercise I can suggest is getting your racket out at home and making a few practice swings, each time reducing your gip pressuse. The aim of the exercise is to see how late you can leave it in the swing before you have to apply 100% grip pressure. I'm not talking about full blown smashes or the like, I'm talking small 1/4 speed swings to the side of the body as though the shuttle is to the side of you at maybe just above head height (don't want to hit the ceiling!).

When I started doing this I found I was applying 100% pressure from the start of the swing and was kinda forcing my shots. Now I only really grip hard at the very last second before contact, basically when I start to pronate my forearm.